In its first week, the fourth Grand Theft Auto videogame is expected to sell six million copies. It will likely shake up even more family-values politicians and concerned parents than its violent predecessors. And perhaps most importantly, it could cause a substantial shift in the videogame industry—simply because of its release today, at the end of April, a full four months past the close of the peak period for introducing new videogames.

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“There used to be lulls,” says Ricardo Torres, editor in chief of GameSpot.com, a videogame culture and review website. “It would be dead the first part of the year, January through April, then there would be a few events or releases in April, and then we’d relax and brace for the fall rush.”

During the past few years, a handful of games have been released between January and April—but generally as a result of production snafus. Now publishers are starting to realize that it’s actually good business.

“As games come into more households, we see a spreading of release dates,” says Mike Hickey, associate analyst of emerging and existing technology companies for Janco Partners, a Colorado-based investment-banking firm. “During the holiday, wallets are more open, so of course they’re more likely to spend money. But if you have strong, quality content, you can release it in April—just like the cinema business.”

The racy Grand Theft Auto IV isn’t the only major game coming out this spring—Capcom’s Devil May Cry 4 was released in February; Sony’s Gran Turismo 4 Prologue hit shelves in April; and God of War: Chains of Olympus in March, the same month as Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. They have done well—according to the NPD Group, Super Smash Bros. sold 2.7 million in March—but if G.T.A. sells its expected six million this week, the record-breaking results may be enough to convince developers that a nonholiday release isn’t only sensible but advantageous.